Intergroup contact theory suggests that bringing groups together under favourable
conditions will lead to positive intergroup relations (Allport, 1954). Whilst the contact
effect has attained substantial empirical support (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) and
provided a valuable contribution, it is not without its critics. Commentators have
criticised contact research for focusing on self-report measures of prejudice and
optimal contact conditions, often in laboratory settings (Dixon, Tredoux & Clack,
2005b). Addressing these drawbacks researchers have been examining intergroup
contact through behavioural observations at the micro-level in everyday life spaces.
Results from these studies suggest that even in shared space groups remain segregated
in homogenous clusters.
The research reported here used this micro-ecological behavioural approach to
examine intergroup contact amongst Protestant and Catholic young people in
Northern Ireland. This involved the development of an innovative seat mapping
technique. In the first study the seating behaviour of pupils in 12 classrooms from
three integrated schools were examined at three points in time (September, January
and June) over the school year. In the second study the seating behaviour and attitudes
measured through infrahumanization were examined in three classrooms in a Further
Education college at two time points (September and January) in the college year. The
final studies examined intergroup behaviour and attitudes through infrahumanization,
intergroup anxiety and self-esteem as well as focus groups amongst young people
attending a cross-community contact intervention.
Results demonstrate the persistence of informal segregation between Protestant
and Catholic young people in Northern Ireland. It was only in the contact intervention
study that behaviour and attitudes were found to change, to more favourable attitudes
and less segregation, over time. This demonstrates that developing shared space does
not necessarily lead to meaningful intergroup contact with informal segregation
remaining. It is argued that these findings have important implications for
methodology, theory and policy in divided societies trying to recover from intergroup
conflict.